Roll wrapping machine with roll orienter and method

Abstract

A roll wrapping machine includes a roll infeed conveyor; a roll wrapping station having a film curtain, sealing bars and a pusher for pushing the roll into the curtain and past the bars; and a roll orienter on the infeed conveyor. The orienter receives each roll fed down the conveyor, spins the roll and releases the roll with the roll tail in a known circumferential location so that the tail of the roll is in the six o'clock position when the roll is received at the wrapping station and is not caught between the plastic curtain film during sealing.

What I claim as my invention is: 
     
       1. Apparatus for wrapping a film envelope around a roll of web material with a free tail, the apparatus including a roll infeed conveyor having a downstream end, the conveyor including a first movable conveyor belt, a conveyor drive connected to the belt for moving the conveyor belt in a downstream direction toward the roll wrapping station, and a first hold-down member located a distance from the belt; a roll wrapping station adjacent the downstream end of the conveyor, and a roll orienter on the conveyor, the roll orienter including a first rotatable wheel located a distance from the belt and having an axis extending transversely to the direction of movement of the belt, a circumferential portion of the wheel facing the belt, a wheel drive connected to the wheel for rotating the wheel and moving the circumferential portion in an upstream direction at a speed approximately equal to the downstream speed of the belt, a tail-location sensor on the conveyor adjacent to the wheel, and a time interval controller joining the tail-location sensor and the wheel drive to stop the wheel drive and rotation of the wheel after actuation of the tail location sensor by the tail of a roll spun between the wheel and the belt and expiration of a timing interval. 
     
     
       2. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the portion of the wheel and the hold-down member are each located approximately the same distance from the belt. 
     
     
       3. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the tail-location sensor is located downstream of the wheel axis. 
     
     
       4. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the wheel drive includes a stepping motor. 
     
     
       5. Apparatus as in claim 4 including a second rotatable wheel spaced from and co-axial with the first rotatable wheel, said wheel drive connected to the second rotatable wheel. 
     
     
       6. Apparatus as in claim 5 wherein the infeed conveyor includes a second belt and a second hold-down member, said conveyor drive connected to the second belt; and said wheels and hold-down members are generally located over said belts. 
     
     
       7. Apparatus as in claim 6 including an air assembly located below said belts and including an air jet nozzle aimed above the belts, and a switch for actuating the assembly to flow air through said nozzle, said switch including a trigger positioned between the belts and the hold-down members upstream of said wheel axis. 
     
     
       8. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said roll wrapping station includes a roll support platform located at the downstream end of the infeed conveyor, film seal bars, a roll pusher plate movable between a retracted position upstream of the platform and an extended position downstream of the platform and a plate drive for moving the plate between said positions. 
     
     
       9. Apparatus as in claim 8 wherein said platform is located below the infeed conveyor. 
     
     
       10. Apparatus as in claim 9 including a roll guide at the downstream end of the conveyor. 
     
     
       11. Apparatus for wrapping a film envelope around a roll of web material with a free tail, the apparatus including a roll infeed conveyor having a downstream end, the conveyor including first and second spaced conveyor belts, a conveyor drive connected to the belts for moving the belts in a downstream direction, and first and second hold-down members spaced from the belts; a roll wrapping station at the downstream end of the infeed conveyor, the conveyor including a roll platform, a pair of clamp and seal bars located downstream of the platform, a bar drive operable to move the bars between open and closed positions, and a roll pusher member normally located upstream of the roll platform and movable to a position downstream of the platform, a plate drive connected to the plate for moving the plate between said positions; a roll orienter including a rotary shaft extending transversely across the infeed conveyor a distance from the downstream end of the conveyor, a pair of roll orienting wheels on the shaft, each wheel located adjacent one of the conveyor belts and including a circumferential portion facing the belt at the level of an adjacent hold-down member, a wheel drive connected to the shaft for rotating the wheels and moving the circumferential portions in an upstream direction at a speed approximately equal to the downstream speed of the belts, a tail-location sensor on the conveyor adjacent the wheels, and a time interval controller joining the tail-location sensor and the wheel drive to stop the wheel drive and rotation of the wheels after actuation of the tail-location sensor by the tail of a roll spun between the wheels and the belts and expiration of a timing interval. 
     
     
       12. Apparatus as in claim 11 wherein said plate drive is located below said belts. 
     
     
       13. Apparatus as in claim 11 wherein said platform is located below said belts. 
     
     
       14. Apparatus as in claim 12 including roll guides extending downwardly from the downstream ends of the hold-down bars. 
     
     
       15. Apparatus as in claim 11 including a compressed air nozzle located below said belts and aimed upwardly, a switch connecting a source of compressed air to said nozzle, the switch including a trigger located between the belts and the hold-down bars. 
     
     
       16. The method of wrapping a plastic film envelope around a roll of web material with a free tail using a roll wrapping apparatus including an infeed conveyor, a roll orienter and a roll wrapping station, including the steps of: A) feeding a roll along the infeed conveyor to the roll orienter;   B) spinning the roll at the roll orienter between a rotating wheel engaging the roll and moving upstream and a belt moving downstream to move the tail end of the roll outwardly from the roll;   C) sensing the circumferential location of the tail on the spinning roll, initiating a timing interval and spinning the roll during the timing interval;   D) stopping rotation of the wheel at the end of the timing interval with the tail in a known circumferential location while continuing downstream movement of the conveyor;   E) moving the roll downstream along the conveyor and delivering the roll to the roll wrapping station with the tail in a known circumferential location; and   F) actuating the roll wrapping station to wrap the roll within a plastic film envelope with the tail in the envelope.   
     
     
       17. The method of claim 16 including the step of rotating the roll along the infeed conveyor against a hold-down member spaced from the conveyor. 
     
     
       18. The method of claim 16 including the step of moving the roll past the downstream end of the infeed conveyor and placing the roll on a roll platform located below the infeed conveyor. 
     
     
       19. The method of claim 16 including the step of spinning the roll for less than 360 degrees during the timing interval. 
     
     
       20. The method of claim 16 including the step of moving the wheel upstream slightly faster than the conveyor moves downstream.